RDG mixes science, libations and food in cocktail classes

One of Houston’s most popular restaurants is ready to start blinding you with science.

RDG + Bar Annie chef Robert Del Grande, the possessor of a doctorate in biochemistry, recently hired bartender Chris Frankel, also known as “the mad scientist,” for a new food and drink experiment they hope will have you seeing stars.

Frankel, an alum of Anvil Bar & Refuge, Underbelly and Cuchara restaurants, joined the RDG staff as bar manager to engineer a new cocktail menu to marry with Del Grande’s new docket of bar food. But you don’t need to know quantum physics to enjoy. Just place yourself in the capable hands of one of the city’s most esteemed toques and one of Houston’s hotshot mixologists and enjoy.

The pair will showcase their efforts on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m. with a special cocktail class at RDG — the first of a series of events to draw attention to the restaurant’s new bartender and bar program. The class, where Frankel will demonstrate variations on classic drinks, will include plenty of tastes from Del Grande’s bar menu, which includes barbecue brisket taquitos, fried Gulf popcorn shrimp with salsa verde, fried Gulf oysters with cocktail and tartar sauce, Asian spiced chicken wings with spicy ginger sesame ranch dip, lime and black-pepper potato chips with smoked cheddar bacon dip and black-bean dip with chorizo and goat cheese.

Del Grande said the new nibbles are meant to pair with cocktails more so than wine. And clever drinks, he adds, are what’s driving the social scene at the bar — something Frankel knows well. The bartender was happy to invest RDG with some new approaches to classic cocktails (he’s making his own tonic water for the RDG G&T) as well as updating the standards. He also created a half-dozen new drinks that feature brandy and eau de vie.

Frankel said the RDG crowd is a perfect environment for some of flashy new sippers that include clever-named cocktails such as the Aunt Julia (a pisco-based drink named for “Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter,” a novel by Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa), the Jolof Queen (named for the dynasty that ruled medieval Senegal; the cocktail includes bissap, a hibiscus drink from Senegal), and Looking Glass (featuring brandy, an homage to the pop band Looking Glass, known for its one-hit wonder song, “Brandy”).

Frankel – unsurprising to anyone who knows him – invests a lot of history, travel and pop culture in his mixology referencing. But he’s careful, he said, that while pushing the envelope he doesn’t go too far.

“It’s a different challenge to take over at an existing restaurant with a very storied background. You don’t want to screw up what exists,” he said. “And you also want to keep it going forward.”